I haven't posted in a long time. There are reasons for this, which I doubt any of you want to hear. Some of you know what happened.

I will no longer be an artist. I will no longer draw, paint, or anything for the foreseeable future.

I have completely lost the drive. I have soul searched and determined that for me emotions and hormones really drove my art forward. The older I get, the more my hormones are subsiding and from that perspective I cannot become "inspired" to do anything. The current political climate is so amazingly caustic that I can feel the nation dividing. I have done some finished work, but it isn't anything that remotely matches anything I have done in the past 10 years. I sometimes do political cartoons as art therapy. I seriously doubt this crowd or even this venue wants to see these. They spare no feelings and they shouldn't. They were meant mostly for me. I used to want to illustrate beauty and now I want to paint ugly. I want to create monstrous images of pain and anguish.

I don't do work for conventions anymore and I will not seek a table nor will I do commissions. I am DONE!!! COOKED!!!

The good news is, life always changes. For now, this part of my life is done. It has happened one other time in my life and I came back from the lurch, so it can happen again. I am sure I will come to regret not drawing during this period, but there isn't much to be done if you simply don't want to.

Yes...another year has slipped on by. DA has gotten so big I doubt many people even see my art anymore. They get fewer and fewer views. Hell, there's still work from last year no one even bothered to comment on or download. Either I am forgotten or suck pretty hard now a days.

Whatever the reason, I will continue to upload my work here for anyone who wants to enjoy it. I don't do Tumbler or Reddit. I have a Patreon account www.patreon.com/WhiteAppleMult… if anyone is interested. I will be uploading videos of how to do certain traditional techniques, inking, and some dip pen talk.

I was quite pleased with this years work and it went over VERY well at the art show. My Fox-E picture got an incredible amount of attention for a nude piece. I also did well at my table. I think last year was all about timing. Not getting the con on the holiday weekend really hurt sales.

OK, so I may have gotten two or three requests in my note bin regarding commissions. I have been hesitant to pursue them because they were not very cut and dry. Meaning, people wanted me to illustrate for the long term, or join them in their project (without pay); things like that. I apologize if anyone has sent me a request and I have appeared to ignore it. Maybe read my description of what I am prepared to offer and see if it matches your request. If it does, I apologize, maybe I misunderstood and you should re-send it.

The only thing I have time for, or feel the audience could really afford, are character pinups. Things like, "Draw this character! Draw that character!" I can do that, with relative ease. Anything too complicated and we're going to have to draw up a contract and things are going to get pricey.

At conventions it has been pretty simple:

$15.00 quick pencil sketch (can be full body character or characters) on 9 x 12 drawing paper (85lb)$35.00 Full Pencil Render. That means a clean pencil work with shading and details. 9 x 12 Bristol Board Vellum.$45.00 Ink Render. Comic style inking, full detail. 9 x 12 Bristol Board.$60.00 Ink Render + Copic Marker coloring. Same as ink but with color! Typically, there will be no background, if there is, it's out of my good graces and will likely be colored pencil.$80.00+ Ink + Copic Marker + Airbrush. This is a full on illustration. 9 x12 maximum size on illustration board. Ink and copic colored characters with an airbrushed background.$150.00 Full acrylic painted and airbrushed work. This is a very realistic illustration. It requires a full pencil render, plus several layers of acrylic paint and finally airbrush and any other media I think is appropriate to get the realistic effect desired.

Now, if things need to get bigger, then we will need to discuss things as time and material begin to increase.

So, thoughts on this or should I give up asking for commissions on DA?

I have succeeded in posting all the associated art that I created this summer for the Animefest convention. I really want to create more art over the course of the year, but sadly I see that slipping away each day I don't draw. I have other side projects and then there's trying to make money. I just need the time and time is something I am rarely given.

Some things to look forward to, I have been writing a book regarding my 10 year research on vintage dip pens. I have written the bulk of the chapters and taken numerous macro photos of the pens. Now I just need to piece it all together and edit it. I have also been blogging about the pens. I have two good posts thus far: vintagenibs.blogspot.com/2014/… and vintagenibs.blogspot.com/2014/… . I also have a fairly successful shop on Etsy if you are in need of vintage pens: www.etsy.com/shop/WhiteAppleMu… . And as always, should you have any questions about vintage pen nibs, do not hesitate to ask!

Recently I decided I may want a change in career. I really want to do art...but maybe what I might be better at is teaching. I know a massive amount of traditional techniques; some that are long forgotten. Maybe that is what I will focus on this year...

Furthermore, I would like to say that I will be trying to worm my way into more conventions. Expect to see my art at A-Kon's Art Show next year.

AnimeFest 2014 has come and gone. It was an extremely trying con for me. I was in desperate need to make money and fell short of the goal. I thought that if I had increased the quality and detail of the work, and made more fan art, that I would be successful. It seems fate had other ideas.

I consider this years series of art to be some of the best work I have ever done. I broke through boundaries I didn't even know where there. I experimented, I used every technique I knew, and I grew a little as an artist. Where I failed to monetize my art, I succeeded in growing artistically.

Over the course of the next few days I will post the 20+ pieces of art I did. I find that when I post them all at once, the first and last are the only ones ever seen. These pieces deserve more.

Commissions. Other people offer them. I do too. Why not hit me up for a commission? I can pretty much do anything...draw anything, render in almost any media known to man since 1700 AD, except for oils.

So....yeah. It can happen. You want that drawing, painting, etc...and I want boxes of monies. It's a match made in heaven!

So it breaks down like this:

9 x 12 Pencil Sketches are $15.00 USD. I typically shade them so it's not like a super rough sketch.

9 x 12 Inked art is $40.00 USD. Why? Cuz I use only the best materials and I have an amazing eye for detail!

9 x 12 Copic and Ink $65.00. It doesn't matter how many characters are on the page. Material is material whether it's just a bust that fills the page or 6 characters.

Air Brush and Acrylic paintings are a per cost basis. The cost can fluctuate between $80.00 USD to $300.00 USD. It's all about time and materials!

Digital stuff works a bit different. Digital costs can be as low as $35 and go as high as $500.00.

Ever want to buy some of my original art? Want to buy some vintage art supplies? Well HEY, there's a new Etsy shop in town! www.etsy.com/shop/WhiteAppleMu…! Let's all get up and dance around like monkeys out of pure, unadulterated, joy!!! WOOOoooWOooooooWoooooo!!!!!

Too much? Not enough? (-__-)

Well, there it is. I apologize in advance for the expensive pen sets (the art set is reasonably priced though). Some of the pens in those sets are extremely rare and valuable. The art set is a good buy. Everything you need to sketch, ink and letter.

I have other sets that will be going up as well as other art. Depending on sales is whether or not I continue posting one or the other. Oh yeah, and the art set says there are only two available; I can probably squeeze out another two if need be. I only have so many ink bottles and pen holders.

SPEAKING of PEN HOLDERS!!!! HOLY Step-Mother of GAWD!!!! I found the best pen holders on planet Earth. Go here: www.grifhold.com/ and buy either the No 47 Sketch (for regular dip pens) and/or the No 49 Tubular (for crow quill pens). I have used vintage professional holders, vintage school holders, as well as the standard, plastic modern holders. NOTHING measures up to these. Nothing. Just sayin'.

Sorry. I have stuck behind Microsoft's XBOX for a long time. I have avoided Sony products as well. But, they've gone too far with licensing with XBOX one. I am sick to death of billionaire's complaining about dollars lost due to pirating, copyig, etc. Grow a pair and show us actual factual evidence. Just because you SAY you're loosing money doesn't mean that you actually ARE loosing money. We're just supposed to take your word for it.

Licensing. Where the hell does it end? Do you own the clothes you're wearing? If you follow licensing, you don't. Because technically, the designer who designed the jeans and the manufacturer who made the jeans are loosing money every time you give your jeans to someone else. You should be forced to pay them every time you wear them or allow someone else to wear them.

I will NOT be driving to a store, to buy a 60+ dollar video game only to have to be stuck playing it on ONE system. I am not going to get on my computer and transfer the license to another XBOX so I can go to my friend's house to show or play the game. If I pay the money; it's MINE. The developers have salaries. They get paid either way.

I believe XBOX will follow the way of the DIVX and be pushed out of the market before the end of it's inaugural year.

Yup. Seems life just doesn't want me to do art anymore until I am too old to enjoy it. It's always something that pops up. Time, opportunity, desire...it's all gone. There is client work which opens the doors to creating art, but those are drying up.

Pretty much the last art you get from me is until after AnimeFest is over. I am doing 4 badges and...well, I don't know what other art I will have time for. It sucks becuase I have some REALLY cool stuff in my head and I want to do them. Just...can't.

If you are an artist and want to remain that way for life, there are two things you cannot do:

1) Get a serious job that supports your entire family (unless that is an art job, then you're off the hook)2) Have children.

The exception would be if you have tons of support from family to help you get the time you need to draw/create....which I don't.

FML.

Sincerely,Me

UPDATE: Holy crap I drew today! Scary, i know. I had to study up for a super hero drawing class I am going to teach. I was given the time to do so, and I took advantage. YaY!

So....finally got a DD after...what...6 years of posting stuff? I am not shocked that it was one of my tutorials. Those tutorials get 5 or so favs a day and several comments a week. I am glad however that they did get more exposure. Why? What does it mean? What it means to me is, the value of my impact on the artistic community has increased. it's wrong to say that this is ego; because it's not about elevating my own self worth to me or proving anything to anyone. It is more about legacy. I have no delusions that I am going to hit big in the art industry. I will never owe my riches and fame to my art. However, I can die happy knowing that thousands of artists were inspired to do art because I was willing to share my knowledge. That to me is more important. I have other skills that make money. I have entertained myself with my art for 30+ years. Now I would like nothing more than to give back. These tutorials are part of that process.

I have told many people who I have come into contact with that when I was growing up, there were no artists around to talk to. No one who could share their knowledge. When I went to comic conventions, artists were tight-lipped and generally rude. Save two people of note: Sergio Argones, and Sandra Chang. They were not scared to offer up art advice to a promising 13 year old. Much of their advice I use to this day.

Just consider this, if anyone asks, what does it profit a person to keep artistic knowledge to themselves? Art isn't a magic act. There is no new technique out there. Practically every technique has been used, documented and taught. So selfishness is just unbecoming.

It was the most positive convention for me in a LONG time. Let me explain:

First my badge submission fav.me/d5do4zf made the cover of the program book and the main pre-reg badge. The traditional version had the highest bid of any art at the Art Show this year.

The Art Show was another part of the success. I had people coming up to me congratulating me and people calling me a Rockstar. The Art Show started off JAM-PACKED! I had NEVER seen that many people. When the first piece of mine was brought up and they asked if the artist was in the house, people clapped and cheered. That had never happened before. It was an amazing feeling to be sure. I submitted 21 total pieces to the Art Show. 15 regular pieces and 6 adult pieces. Out of that 21, 12 regular pieces went to the live auction and 3 adult pieces. 2 pieces went for their first bid leaving me 4 of my adult pieces to take home. It was fantastic actually, because I got to keep one of my favorite adult pieces (yay). So, I shattered my all-time record for amount of money made at the art show by nearly three times over the amount. Apparently, Egyptians were the hot ticket! Although, I don't think I will do an Egyptian piece next year...but don't hold me to that . I think next year I will focus on Steam-Punk.

Well fans....and friends...it's been a long 3 years and 11 months since I took a career job and almost left my art in the dust. Save every summer when I do art for AnimeFest. It has all come to a happy end. I was laid off. So guess what that means? Yes, besides a new job search....I will be doing art again! IN fact, the new stuff I have been working on eclipses my previous work. I am still working with air brush and acrylic paints, but I have a few new techniques to add. Some of the art I will post are older drawings that I finally finished and some are works that were done digitally but I decided to do them traditionally.

It is to be hoped that the art-trend will continue. I know most of my old DA friends have long since gathered their own fame and the tables have turned...I now look to your work for guidance and inspiration (a big wink-wink to my Italian art friends. Sorry I never completed my entry to your contest nearly 4 years ago. Maybe with my new-found freedom i might actually complete it! )

In other news....I have a baby. Yes, that's right. I have spawned. I am the proud owner of a baby daughter. We'll see if she takes up the artistic traits...

Hmmmm let's see....oh yeah....I started collecting whiskey. <shrug> I know, kinda weird. Not just any whiskey mind you, Bourbon. I can't quite put my finger on what it is that fascinates me. Is the rarity and owning it...is it the lure of caramel/vanilla goodness.....I just can say. Either way, that comes to a halt without a job O_O.

Finally, I cannot WAIT to show you the several pieces I have done. Just do me one favor...you know....that is if you really care.....PLEASE go through them all and have a look. It seems that when I post more than one picture...it;s always just the VERY last one that anyone ever looks at and comments on. Hell, I think there are some pics I posted last year that have NO comments -__-.

There is something that has been bothering me a little as time goes on.

When I was growing up, there weren't very many artists and of those artists they wanted next to nothing to do with anyone. I started going to comic conventions very early and wanted artistic advice. They refused to give you any except for a very RARE few.

Now days, there are artists everywhere. Photoshop, and it's brothers have given practically everyone a tool to express their artistic whims with a skill level that blows away many traditional artists.

What I have found is that 90% of those artists, who are struggling, don't want ANY help whatsoever. There appears to be some sort of pride in saying: "I'm self-taught" as if this somehow makes someone a better artist because they didn't need any help. Well, I'm sorry I don't agree. If I relied solely on "self-taught" I wouldn't be anywhere near as good as I am now. I took what I learned from others and expanded on it. I have seen what artists are capable of when they get out of college from art schools.

I wished there were professional artists out there willing to share their knowledge and skill with others. I am an open book to anyone who has the courage to ask.

Sure, no one likes to be told they did something wrong or what they did wasn't good enough. Criticism is tough to take sometimes. It's even harder to determine if it's 'hater' or 'jealous' criticism or someone who is genuinely trying to help improve another artist.

I'm not going to sugar coat it, especially for me. I feel 110% alone in the artistic world. Anyone who is better than me could give a shit that I exist, and those whose skill doesn't match mine doesn't want me to share knowledge with them.

It was the best of cons and it was the worst of cons. Met some fantastic people, had fun with the people I already knew, and did a fair amount of challenging commissions.

Obviously I over did it on the number of art submissions to the Art Show. 18 pieces were submitted. Of those 18, only 5 went to auction. Of the remaining 13, 3 will be sold on their 1st bid. Of the remaining 10, one will definitely be heading home with me. The remaining 9 are in limbo. Some could sell now...some could be ignored.

Obviously, I won't spend another 2 months working on a bazillion pieces of art. I will, at best, do half that number.

So I will begin posting all the work, but I am going to trickle it out some because I have noticed when I post a huge amount of stuff, people only see, and comment on the first submission and never see the rest.

It's that time of year again when I do a bunch of artwork in preparation for AnimeFest convention. I've all but given up on A-Kon. I am sorry for those who wish to see me there. It's too expensive and too difficult to secure a table.

I want so badly to post some of the work I've been doing. I purchased an airbrush system and have been doing acrylic paintings mixed with airbrush. Quite possibly some of the best work yet. Although, my airbrush skills aren't where I want them, but by this time next year they should be much better.

So please keep on the lookout. Spetember 5th (labor day) is most likely when I will post.

So anyway, AnimeFest has come and gone (for me anyway.) I had been working on a massive amount of work prior to this convention. My wife had commanded that I not post the art until after the convention. So if you go through my gallery you will see several new pieces I had worked on.

I stumbled onto a new technique with the colored pencils that allowed me to create a background faster. It also applied it in such a way that it didn't detract from the primary subject or compete with it's color intensity. I was very happy with it so expect to see more like it in the future.

I had actually created far more pieces but I ran out of time. Creating art takes up so much time. I took an entire week off from work which zoomed by so fast it was hardly a vacation. Now I must fly to Canada. Have fun and enjoy!

Artistically I am dying. There is no doubt. For my family I have decided to try my hand at going back to the regular 9 hour work-grind. It soon proved more time-consuming than my ability to draw.

More and more I drifted from the creative side to the more dominant rational side.

It paid off in the end. I graduated from what I consider an immature job to a more professional job. With that said it has taken all my powers to learn this new job.

I have (hopefully) forever left the world of tech support. I have ventured into a role called: 'Process Analyst.'

Here my creative efforts are geared towards fashioning a series of rules and regulations that govern an entire global department of business. We are facilitators and mediators. Believe it or not the department isn't devoid of some artistic ventures. I get to construct pretty flow-charts and process maps. Yeah, its not quite as satisfying to me as drawing a sexy, strong, woman, or a menacing, slimy, Zombie, but it does at least satisfy that part of my desire to create.

So it is to be more delays until any art is ever actually created. Sometimes I wonder will I be able to get better or will I atrophy into obscurity. I think only God knows.

Its funny...he might have given the gift of artistic talent and he may not have taken it away, but the desire to do so and the time to achieve it almost the next best thing. Some might even say he gave it for a reason. I shall have to wait and see how that plays out. For now he has given me a special opportunity and I am willing to see how far down the rabbit hole i can go.

I will leave you with this.

I have made arrangements to be at A-Kon this year. I shall be sharing a table. So, some art might be birthed for that event.

Also, I will likely go to Anime Fest as well. So expect to see badge work.

All this of course will take place in the summer.

I know this all might disappoint a lot of people, but really, I don't have much choice. I don't expect anyone but myself to understand. All I can ask for is that people have faith and continue to enjoy what I have produced.